Joe Hofman launched a recycling initiative on campus that now saves Union tons of trash.

Meetings with the garbage collectors, meetings with the college president, presentations to the faculty and students, more meetings with deans and resident assistants, speeches at colloquiums—Joe Hofmann is busy. A nursing major also working toward minors in leadership and psychology and an associate degree in Pre-Allied Health, Hofmann is also the resident assistant for village students at Union, s Student Center supervisor and a columnist for Union College’s newspaper, the Clocktower.

Union College students prepare to spread the bread to the homeless residents of downtown Lincoln.

Standing in line with two or three carts full of peanut butter, jelly, bread, water, apples and bananas, Veena Tharayil attracted a lot of attention. A 19 year-old sophomore studying general studies, Tharayil has always been inspired by her mother’s compassionate and giving spirit. This helped form Veena’s passion for the homeless that fueled her to gather a bunch of friends and give sack lunches to over 150 people on Lincoln’s streets one Sabbath afternoon in October.

Freshmen Warrior Nic Morrison holds up a sign to support his sister, Katie and the Warrior women at a game last Saturday night. (Photo: Kyle Smith)

Sophomore Gerry Mtike could feel the roar of the crowd as he took the floor. Only two minutes remained in the November 4 contest, but a late rally gave the Warrior basketball team hope of a come-from-behind victory.

Even though the team fell short that night, the support of the fans and the atmosphere of game reminded Mtike what first attracted him to the team. As a freshman he loved to attend games, and now after 11 months or practice, he made the team.

Estimate of student earnings from working minimum wage throughout summer

Estimate of summer earnings—by far the least risky and most money earned.

Union College offers a 100% match of earnings from LE work up to $2,000.

Education is an investment. As a student, this is an investment in your future. If you want to earn an additional $1 million more over your lifetime (see here), you need to work hard to take out the least amount of loans possible and graduate with a college degree.

Here's one part of how you can make your dream a reality: work during the summer. Here are some of the most common options:

Joellyn Sheehy, Union graduate, says "Go! Take a gap year and discover yourself."

Joellyn Sheehy, Union College 2014 graduate, has daring advice. “Take a gap year and do something,” she advises. “Travel abroad. Volunteer. Get out of your comfort zone. Go!”

After graduating from Mt. Ellis Academy in Montana, Joellyn took her own advice and worked as a nanny for a family in Italy (right outside of Milan). “I met so many amazing people. Italy is beautiful and everything tastes amazing,” she grins. “Plus, I got to learn another language!”

Nick Bock, Union College graduate and CEO and co-founder of Five Nines, a Lincoln technology company

Looking at Nick Bock, I can't help but think, "this is what most high school students dream of being—wildly successful while having fun at work." Nick was featured in the Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40, a local group of 40 of the top entrepreneurs, executives and professionals under the age of 40. He is the CEO and co-founder of the tech company Five Nines Technology Group—which was named for four consecutive years on the Inc. 500/5000 List of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S.

Dr. Sharon Medcalf, co-director of the Center for Biosecurity, Biopreparedness and Emerging Infectious Disease at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will give a talk about Ebola and how it might impact Nebraska on Nov. 2.

Ebola. It’s a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many. For most Americans, Ebola has been painted as a mysterious, highly contagious, super virus that once contracted, inevitably leads to a quick and painful death.

But according to Dr. Sharon Medcalf, co-director of the Center for Biosecurity, Biopreparedness and Emerging Infectious Disease at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, most do not have the right facts about the virus and its possible impact on Nebraska.

Natalie Bruzon and a group of fellow Union students created the North American Young Adult Summit—a weekend devoted to finding new ways to stay connected with the Adventist Church.

A lifelong Adventist and daughter of missionary parents, Natalie Bruzon is tired of seeing youth walk out during a sermon—and sometimes joining them. Feeling disconnected to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she even considered attending a nondenominational Christian church.

Many times we assume that a community college will provide the same quality education as a traditional college without the extra expense. That's not true.

Since a community college costs are subsidized by state and federal funding, many families assume the educational value is the same.

However, community colleges are not built to take the place of four-year institutions. Most community colleges are focused on technical trade skills, associates two-year degrees and further learning opportunities for adult learners.

Sean Hendrix, junior biomedical science major at Union shares his insight and advice for high school seniors.

"In my family, you need to be a lawyer or a doctor," Sean Hendrix jokes. He's a junior at Union College pursuing a biomedical degree. His extended family has many people in the medical field, but no doctors yet. Sean dreams of becoming a doctor and opening his own practice with family members who are physcian assistants and other medical professionals.

Tori Leddy, a biomedical major from Maryland shares her Union College experience and advice.

Tori Leddy is a woman to keep your eye on. This lady is going places. A junior biomedical science major from Maryland, Tori plans on getting a PhD and an MD, so she can do research and have the option to practice medicine.

"I like science," Tori, alumn of Auburn Academy, says. "I like asking questions and figuring out problems. I wanted a career that would help people and I think research is the best way I can do that."

Tim Timmons will perform for Family Worship on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

When Jessyka Albert, Union College’s Union for Christ director watched Tim Timmons’ testimony, she knew she had to bring him to Union. “He has such a great outlook on life and spirituality,” says Albert, “Just listening to his testimony was encouraging. That’s why I wanted to bring him for Family Worship.”

On Thursday night, October 16, College View Church's Heartland Hall will be transformed. Each year, the Good Neighbor Community Center holds the Samples of the World fundraiser—giving the city of Lincoln a chance to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of a wide variety of countries and support the work of the center. But behind the food and fun, Union College students provided the vital support needed to make the event a reality.

For many, career fairs conjure up images from high school of walking through rows of decorated booths as and overwhelming number of recruiters handed out free pens and brochures. But when Steven Foster attended the Union College Career Fair last fall, he discovered that finding an internship or a job is all about networking. And a career fair is a great place to network.

When the economy fell into recession, national unemployment grew from 5.0% in 2008 to 9.7% in 2010 (see here). Suddenly college graduates with large loans were competing for high school students' summer jobs and people began to wonder if a college education was still relevant. Here are five important things to consider.

Guila Medrana (left) and Miletzi Valero (right) both visited Union College during October 2014 Preview Days and were kind enough to answer questions about their hopes and college concerns.

When deciding where you're going to spend the next four years of your life, it's important to visit the top 2-3 campuses to see which one really is the best fit.

At Union, we offer opportunities for guests to become Union students during our Preview Days weekends, where they participate in the campus's social, academic and spiritual events. Two such visitors from this weekend shared their perspective and advice for high school students.

Being a parent of a college freshman can be overwhelming. There’s a weight in your throat and heart when you drop off your child to college for the first time. You’re left hoping that you made the right decision in which school to entrust your most precious treasure. You want to make sure your child can get a job, pay back any student loans and grow into a thriving adult. Afterall, this educational environment will help dictate what type of person this child will be for the rest of his or her life.

The Union College Invitational Volleyball Tournament will be held Oct. 16-18.

Women’s high school volleyball teams from around the country will soon gather at Union College on the weekend of October 16-18 for the annual Union College Invitational Volleyball Tournament 2014. Formerly known as the Mid-America Union Volleyball Tournament, the 2014 tournament will continue the seeded pool play format adopted in last year's event.

Jan Paulsen, former president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, will speak at Union College on Oct. 3-4.

UPDATE: due to flight delays, Dr. Paulsen will not make it to vespers on Friday night.

Dr. Jan Paulsen, former president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, will speak at Union College for Family Worship on Oct. 3 and give a sermon titled “Whatever Happens, it will be Okay,” for both services on Oct. 4 at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church.